


Dying is easy. Living is harder.

by dabo



Series: Main Character Syndrome (Dream SMP) [1]
Category: Minecraft Youtubers, Video Blogging RPF, mcyt
Genre: Dream Smp, Violence, based on the festival streams, death mention, death warning cw, dies, side character death, so y’all know who dues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-26
Updated: 2020-11-11
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:21:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,955
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27201715
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dabo/pseuds/dabo
Summary: Tommy watches the events of the Festival happen, powerless to help.
Series: Main Character Syndrome (Dream SMP) [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2012863
Comments: 3
Kudos: 44





	1. Chapter One | The Festival

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tommy and Wilbur make their way to Manberg, and watch the events of the festival unfold. They plan to escape with Tubbo and Niki, and blow up Manberg, but everything goes wrong.

Wilbur was once a great man. He was once a president, a leader, a savior. But now he was insane. It was a hard truth to face, but Tommy knew that this man, this deranged, sad man, was not the same Wilbur he once knew.

It all started when Wilbur told Tommy his plan to blow up Manberg at the festival. Tommy was against it from the start, knowing Tubbo and Niki would be at the festival. He was worried about their safety. But when Tubbo and Wilbur reassured him that only the Manbergians would be hurt, Tommy reluctantly agreed to help Wilbur. But as the Festival grew nearer, the feeling of unease in Tommy's stomach grew, and he vowed to stop Wilbur before the festival.

So when Wilbur came up to Tommy on the morning of the Festival, asking him if what they were doing was right, Tommy expressed his concerns. 

"Wilbur, we don't have to do this," Tommy said softly. "Schlatt won't care if we blow everything up. He'll just rebuild. If his people die, he won't care about that either. And on the off chance that he goes down with Manberg, Quackity or someone else will just take his place. Blowing Manberg up won't do anything." Tommy finished talking, and he saw Wilbur's eyes soften. He was getting through to him. Tommy reached into his pockets, and pulled out two beautifully wrapped pastries, labeled in cursive as _'Niki's cakes'_. He handed them to Wilbur, who looked down at them, and then back to Tommy. 

"What the fuck is this?" he asked, angrily throwing the cakes to the floor. "Do you think you can guilt trip me with these? None of them mean anything to me anymore, Tommy. Not Fundy, not Tubbo, and not Niki. You can't stop me anymore, Tommy. IF I CAN'T HAVE MANBERG, NO ONE CAN!" he shouted, and Tommy took a step back. "Listen to me, Tommy, because I'm only going to say this once. You're either with me or against me. And I wouldn't recommend being against me." Wilbur said, staring Tommy down, and gripping his shoulders.

"A- Alright. I'm with you, Wilbur," Tommy said, and Wilbur released him.

"Good. Now, we're going to Manberg. I've rigged the place with TNT, and when Tubbo says, _'Let the festival begin,'_ I'm pressing the button and blowing that place to smithereens." With that, Wilbur started walking in the direction of Manberg. Tommy followed him, feeling thoroughly defeated. 

They walked for an hour and a half, before making it to Niki's bakery at the outskirts of Manberg. Wilbur continued to walk, but Tommy paused, taking a seat on the crafting bench outside the bakery. He looked out at the docks that Tubbo had built, the farms that Niki had spent so many days working on, and Fungi's grave, that the citizens of L'Manberg had donated diamonds to. Exiled or not, this was still Tommy's home, and it was devastating to think that all this would be gone in an hour. 

His thoughts were interrupted by the sharp sound of static coming from the old walkie talkie in his pocket. He pulled out the walkie talkie, and was able to make out the voice of Wilbur. 

"Where are you?" Wilbur demanded. "I'm at the White House, get your ass over here now."

"Copy that," Tommy said, shoving the walkie talkie into his pocket. He got up from the crafting bench, and walked into the bakery, opening one of Niki's chests and grabbing a piece of paper. 

_'nihachu,_

_i don't know if you'll see this. hell, i don't even know if you'll make it out of Manberg at all. i hope so. if you do, pogtopia is to the west. its past two rivers and a forest, and it's buried in a hill. if you and tubbo make it out together, he'll show you the way._

_hope to see you later_

_-tommy'_

When he finished the letter, he placed it in the doorway and began to walk to the White House. When he got there, he saw Wilbur leaning against the door. 

"What are you doing? They'll see you!" Tommy said, and opened the door, shoving Wilbur inside.

"Won't matter," Wilbur said, walking to one of the windows and looking down at the field below, where the citizens of Manberg stood. Tommy looked out as well, and saw Tubbo, stood next to Quackity, Fundy, Niki, and Schlatt. They were talking to each other and laughing, having a good time. As Wilbur and Tommy looked down at them, Tubbo spotted them through the window and gave them a curt nod before turning back to the group.

"Tubbo'd better make it out of here okay," Tommy muttered, but Wilbur either didn't hear him, or pretended not to. They stayed in the White House for about twenty more minutes, before Wilbur pressed the button on his walkie talkie. "Let's get this started." 

Niki's voice came through the other end, sharp. _"On it"._ Through the window, Tommy saw her saw her say something to Tubbo, who nodded and began walking towards the podium. As the Manbergians began to take their seats, Tommy saw Technolbade enter the field, walking to the array of seats and sitting next to Schlatt. For a brief, terrible moment, Tommy thought Technoblade was going to tell Schlatt about their plan, but Techno didn't seem to be saying anything. 

Tommy was distracted from Technoblade when he heard the magnified voice of Tubbo beginning his speech. Tubbo talked for a few minutes, and near the end of the speech, Tommy saw Schlatt stand up, no doubt going to the podium to make a speech of his own. Tubbo finished his speech, and Schlatt grabbed the mic. 

"Anything to add?" he asked.

"Uh... Nope! Let the festival begin!" Tubbo said, and out of his peripheral vision, Tommy saw Wilbur get up. 

"Button, button button button button!" Wilbur said, running out of the White House to find the detonator. 

But Tommy was distracted from Wilbur at the sound of an echoing laugh. It was terrible, dark, unnerving, and it was coming from Schlatt. Tommy watched in terror as Quackity and Ponk grabbed Tubbo's arms, forcing him into the seat behind the microphone. Tubbo said something, but he was no longer near the mic, and Tommy couldn't hear it. But Schlatt could, and responded. "Tubbo, Tubbo, Tubbo. I know what you're up to. I know what's going on. I know you've been plotting against Manberg. And for that... you must be punished. Such a shame, really. You were one of my favorites. But betrayel can't be allowed, Tubbo. Technoblade, if you could get up here?" 

Technoblade stood up, and walked to the podium, standing beside Schlatt. "What do you need, President Schlatt?" he asked.

"I need you to do the punishing, Mr. Blade," Schlatt said, and Tommy felt fear spike in his heart. But surely Techno wouldn't do this.

"Mr. President, I'm not sure what you mean," Techno said. 

"Sure you do, Technoblade," Schlatt said, and shoved a crossbow and a firework into Techno's hand. 

Techno hesitated, but raised the crossbow. Surely he wouldn't, Tommy thought. Surely Techno would be loyal. Surely he would know where his loyalties lie. Surely he would shoot Schlatt. But Techno raised the crossbow, loaded the firework into it, and then... 

Tommy screamed in horror as Techno fired the crossbow, and Tubbo's limp body fell to the ground. 


	2. Chapter Two | Return to Pogtopia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tommy finds Niki and brings her to Pogtopia, and confronts Technoblade.

Tommy couldn't look away. It practically happened in slow motion. Techno fired the crossbow and it blew up in an explosion of red, white, and blue. Tubbo fell to the floor, and a guttural scream came from Tommy. He watched in horror as Techno loaded the crossbow again, this time aiming it at the Manbergians. He fired it five times into the crowd, and bodies fell to the ground. People screamed, and Tommy saw a few people run out of the field. He couldn't distinguish the bodies on the ground, but thought he saw one moving, just a little. He itched to jump down, to help them, but he knew he couldn't. He was distracted from his internal conflict by the sound of Wilbur's voice coming through the walkie talkie. "Tommy- I can't find the button. We need to get out. Meet me at Pogtopia. Over and out."

Tommy stood, and started to run. He didn't even know what direction he was going, he just let his feet take him away. He ran for an hour, going past zombies, zig-zagging away from the fire of a few skeletons. After around an hour, he paused, leaning over and resting his hands on his knees, gasping for air. But as he caught his breath, everything hit him. All of it. Tubbo was dead. Gone. For good. The two of them had had their brushes with death before, but Tommy had never imagined that Tubbo would actually die. He knew realistically that death would come to everyone, but it had always seemed so far off. Tommy felt a tear slip down his cheek. He'd not cried in ages, not since before he'd joined L'manberg. "Big men don't cry," he whispered to himself, and wiped the tear from his face, before standing up. He pulled out his compass and saw that Pogtopia was faced east. He began to walk, but the sound of static on his walkie talkie stopped him. He pulled it out of his pocket, fiddled with the dial for a second, and was able to make out a familiar voice through it.

"-hear me? I repeat, can anyone hear me?" the familiar voice of Niki rang out, and Tommy held up the walkie talkie, pressing the button to speak into it.

"Nihachu?" he asked.

"Tommy!" Niki's voice rang through, sounding relieved.

"Where are you?" Tommy asked her. "Are you alone?"

"Yes, I'm alone. I think I'm forty minutes south of Dream's place. I'm in a field."

"I'll find you. Stay there. Over and out," Tommy said, turning off his walkie talkie and starting to walk in Niki's direction.

After about fifteen minutes, Tommy found the field and saw Niki stood in the middle of it, fighting off two zombies with a wooden sword. He grabbed a pearl from his pocket, and chucked it to where Niki was. He braced himself, and then the unpleasant feeling of teleportation happened, and he landed in the field next to Niki. He pulled his flint and steel out, and lit a zombie on fire, before slicing it in half with his sword. Out of the corner of his eye his saw the second zombie grab Niki's arm, and he swung his sword down on the zombie, vanquishing it.

"Thanks," Niki said to him. "You found me pretty quick," she said, putting her sword away.

"I was closeby," he said. "We should probably get going. We want to get to Pogtopia by sunset." The two of them began to walk in silence, towards Pogtopia. After about thirty minutes of silence, Tommy cleared his throat and spoke up. "Er... did you see who made it?" he asked her.

She hesitated, clearly not knowing how he would react. "I think I saw Ponk go down. Jack as well. Fundy got grazed but it didn't look that bad. ...There were probably more. I don't really know, I just ran."

Tommy nodded. "Okay."

"Tommy..." Niki said, and when he looked at her he saw tears in her eyes. "I'm really sorry about Tubbo. He was my friend as well," she said, and Tommy could tell that she was as upset as he.

"I'm going to make Technoblade pay," Tommy said, and the two of them went silent again. Eventually, they made it to Pogtopia's entrance. The two of them entered, and then made their way down the rickety staircase before entering the main cavern.

Stood in the middle of the cavern were Technoblade and Wilbur, and the two of them were talking in hushed voices.

"You," Tommy said, as he saw Technoblade. "You just killed him!" Tommy lunged at Technoblade, but Wilbur stepped forward, in front of him. Tommy pushed him out of the way, and stepped up to Techno. "How could you do that? How could you murder tubbo?!" he asked, his voice breaking.

"In my defence, I was under a lot of peer pressure," Techno said, his voice displaying no emotion at all.

Then Niki spoke up. "You and Tubbo were on the same side! How could you just do that with no hesitation?!" she cried.

A deep chuckle echoed through the cavern, and the three of them turned to Wilbur. "Don't you understand?" he asked the three of them, and they could see a dark, almost evil, glint in his eyes. "Techno doesn't play 'sides'. All he cares about is chaos, and what serves him best."

"But he killed Tubbo!" Tommy said, pulling out his diamond sword and taking another step towards Techno. "Wilbur, exile him now, or I'll kill him. I will." Tommy said, holding the sword up to Techno's neck.

Wilbur grinned. "I personally have no problem with Technoblade staying here. This is between you and him," Wilbur said, and hoisted himself onto a ledge in the wall, sitting down casually.

"He literally betrayed us! He killed Tubbo! Tubbo's gone, for good, because of him!" Tommy said, and he felt a tear slip down his face.  
"Tubbo knew the risks," Wilbur mused. "We all do. He was willing to die for Pogtopia, and he did. If we throw Techno out our chances of breaking Manberg apart is slim, and Tubbo would've died for nothing. That said, I can't tell you what to do, Tommy. Just think about what Tubbo would have wanted."

As angry as Tommy was, he knew that Wilbur was right. Tubbo gave his life for Pogtopia. He would want them to continue. Tommy put his sword away and glared at Techno. "Stay the fuck away from me," he said, and walked away from the group, into a small off-room of the cavern. He put his things into his ender chest, and then sat down on an empty bed. For the first time in a while, he didn't know what to do.


	3. Chapter Three | Tubbox

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tommy attends the funeral of Tubbo.

Tommy spent the following days by going on walks, farming mobs, and generally staying away from Technoblade and the rest of Pogtopia. But three days after the Festival, as Tommy was leaving Pogtopia, Niki stopped him.

"Hey, Tommy. Stay here today," she said to him.

"Why?" he asked her.

She averted her eyes, looking at the floor. "We're having a funeral.... for Tubbo."

"Oh," Tommy said. "Right then." he said, and followed Niki up to the entrance of pogtopia. Stood at the entrance were Quackity and Dream, and at their feet was a six-foot-wide box. Tommy knew what it was immediately.

No words were spoken as the Pogtopians, Dream, and Quackity grabbed shovels, and began to dig a hole for the coffin. When they were done, two hours later, Wilbur turned to the group. "Anyone have anything to say?" he asked. No one spoke, but then Niki spoke up.

She walked to the front of the group, and started to speak. "Tubbo was... Like a brother to me. He really brought out the best of everyone. He was probably the best of us, and he didn't deserve this. We have to do what we can to avenge him, and to make sure his death wasn't in vain. He didn't deserve this," Niki said, and walked back to the group. Tommy could see tears rolling down her face.

"Anyone else?" Wilbur said, looking at Tommy. Tommy shook his head. "Right then," Wilbur said. "Let's... lay him to rest."

The group all grabbed a handle of the coffin, and lowered it into the ground. They started to shovel mounds of dirt into the hole, and when they were finished, Tommy wordlessly walked away from the group.

He didn't even know where he was going, he just needed to get away. To think about something other than his best friend in a coffin, six feet under. Without thinking, he walked to his old house, hours away, in L'manberg. He knew he technically wasn't allowed to be there, knew that he would be killed if he was found, but couldn't bring himself to care. He sat down on the bench by his house, and noticed that the note block was still playing a disc from the last time he had been here. He looked out at the sunset, remembering all the times he and Tubbo had sat here, talking through the night. He missed him. He missed his best friend so, so much. He had no one now. Technoblade was a traitor, Wilbur was insane, Fundy was a Manbergian, and Tubbo was dead. He was alone. He rested his elbows on his knees, and watched as the sunset over what used to be his home. He sat there for an hour and a half, long after the sun was down.

He must've fallen asleep, and he woke up an hour later when he felt something touch him. Instinctively, he fumbled for his knife, and pulled it out of its sheath, pointing it at whoever had woken him. But then he realised the person who had woken him was Niki.

"Hey," she said, sliding onto the bench next to him.

"What are you doing here?" he asked her, putting the knife back into its sheath.

"We need to talk. About Wilbur," she said.

"Er- yeah, sure. What about him?" he asked her.

"He needs to be stopped." she said quietly, and for one of the first times since he had met her, she looked genuinely angry. And it was fucking terrifying.


End file.
